Things to know about CCIE certification and training

Cisco began to promote the CCIE certification project in 1993 with the purpose to select professional technicians who can provide technical support for the solutions released by the company. In the beginning, CCIE was the only certification level in the whole certification program and consisted of a written exam and the next two-day experimental certification in San Jose. The earliest invigilator, Stuart Biggs, got the CCIE number 1025, which is the second number after the location number of the San Jose laboratory. Since then, the number of 1024 has become an integral part of another new laboratory that has been moved to the campus.

It was Terry Slattery who first passed CCIE certification and got the CCIE number 1026. As an experienced and energetic network engineer, he joined a technical team responsible for developing a command-line interface (CLI) to configure routers. CCIE certification project gets more and more popular due to the participation of a large number of professionals engaged in data communication. Because there is no special training for participants at the beginning of the project, the premise of applying for the written exam and the experimental certification is to have practical experience. And Cisco offers a training program only for professionals who have already mastered rich professional skills.

The development of this project has brought about a lot of exciting moments and has revealed to us an emerging industry. It can provide skilled professionals for companies that need to sell, design, develop and support Cisco solutions. At present, the whole Cisco certification system includes the following levels:

• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
• Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA)
• Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)
• Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP)
• Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional (CCIP)
• Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP)
• Cisco Certified Voice Professional (CCVP)
• Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE)

The validity period of all these certifications is three years, but that of CCIE certification is only two years. In order to ensure the validity of the certification, candidates must be re-certified after the expiration of the certificate.

There have been in-depth discussions on the practical value of a certification in many forums. And there has been no universally recognized assessment criteria. But generally speaking, in the field of Cisco dealers’ activities, these certifications are much valued. When purchasing Cisco hardware equipment, the Cisco dealer team with more certified personnel will also get more discounts. Check here for more info.

As a value-added dealer, Cisco’s certification for dealers includes the following levels: selection certification partners, senior certification agents, silver partners, gold partners, and general agents. Each level has corresponding rewards and support to help value-added dealers get more discounts and other incentives. For value-added dealers such as silver partners, gold partners, and general agent agents, in order to meet the requirements, they need to have the corresponding technical ability, which demands a professional team with CCIE experts. Due to the urgent demand of Cisco dealers for CCIE experts, there have even been such strange incidents as kidnapping CCIE experts (refusing to fire them to prevent other companies from employing them), making fake CCIE certificates, renting CCIE experts, and poaching them from competitors.

Because there are not enough CCIE experts to meet the huge demand, people who have the CCIE certificate become the highest-paid among certified personnel in IT professional. Because skills are owned by themselves, and almost all countries around the world have similar needs, CCIE certification opens the door to all parts of the world for network engineers. Through the Strategic Recruitment Solutions (SRS) and the Cisco Partner and Talent Project, Cisco has also made some significant progress in the supervision and support of talent recruitment.

Although outstanding IT professionals all over the world have realized the importance of CCIE certification, the total number of CCIE experts is still less than 21,000 in recent years. Today, due to the emergence of a large number of network professional training programs, it is easier to become a CCIE expert. Cisco network college program is a model of talent development in the industry. The project operates worldwide and includes more than 10,000 people who have completed some of the courses. In addition to the project, Cisco also provides Cisco System Certified Instructor (CCSI) certification and authorizes some training companies to teach Cisco authorized courses as Cisco learning partners (CLP). Training companies that do not use materials and courses authorized by Cisco are called “gray market”. Many CCIE experts are from these types of companies. And for the experimental project, Cisco does not require that it must be carried out through CLP. Cisco training is a huge industry, in which there are several giants that occupy a large market share. You can choose the most suitable course, but you should be more careful with your choice.

If you don’t have enough professional experience and hope to obtain a CCIE certificate in the end, you can take part in SPOTO’s CCIE certification training. CCNA certification and subsequent certification focus on the understanding of routing and switching, voice IP, wireless, and security. Because we all know the difference, the best way to prepare for the certification is to analyze the existing learning and preparation mode. In many forums, a large number of self-study materials are provided in various forms. In high schools, universities, and junior colleges, network projects are also provided as elective courses and there are relevant degrees to apply for.

Do you want to get more detailed information about Cisco technology, certification, or training? Please leave your questions, your interesting projects, or suggestions below so that we can have a discussion later.

Harper Harrison

Harper Harrison is a reporter for The Hear UP. Harper got an internship at the NPR and worked as a reporter and producer. harper has also worked as a reporter for the Medium. Harper covers health and science for The Hear UP.